Haiti's Hopes for Biofuels Rest on Jatropha Plant

http://www.renewableaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=50480

The rising cost of foreign oil has governments and researchers around the world searching for cheaper and more sustainable forms of energy. In Haiti, the hope is centered on a native plant called jatropha curcas, which bears oily seeds that can be crushed and processed to produce diesel fuel for generators or vehicles.

Jatropha could provide a cheap source of fuel for rural areas that are cut off from the nation's electricity grid. With a hectare of jatropha seeds selling for about $600, it could become an important new cash crop.

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Kathleen Robbins, who has been promoting non-profit development programs in Haiti, says jatropha could work in the Caribbean nation, where two thirds of the population relies on farming.

"It has the potential, because it can be grown virtually anywhere, of creating a really positive economic impact in rural Haiti," said Robbins.

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